Method And Apparatus For Persistent Communications, Interoperability And Situational Awareness In The Aftermath Of A Disaster

• US 20090196234A1
• Filed: 04/14/2009
• Published: 08/06/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 05/28/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Incorporated (BAE Systems Plc)
• Original Assignee: BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Incorporated (BAE Systems Plc)
• Inventors: KIMBARK, Mark E., DELANEY, William J., GREENE, Michael F., SPANG, Kristin A.
• Granted Patent: US 8,681,804 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/328
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 9/00 Circuit arrangements for emergency or stand-by power supply, e.g. for emergency lighting
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18539 Arrangements for managing radio, resources, i.e. for establishing or releasing a connection
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18563 Arrangements for interconnecting multiple systems data switching networks H04L12/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/12 Discovery or management of network topologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/08 Protocols for interworking; Protocol conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/18 Multiprotocol handlers, e.g. single devices capable of handling multiple protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/10 Flow control between communication endpoints
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/08 User group management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/90 Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/02 Communication route or path selection, e.g. power-based or shortest path routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/18 Selecting a network or a communication service
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 Connection setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/50 for emergency connections
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/02 Inter-networking arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A system for providing situational awareness outside a temporary incident area network includes a prioritized connection module for connecting a mesh network at the incident area to one of a plurality of available communications channels, with the selection based not only on the availability of a communications channel but also on the associated expense, speed, reliability or bandwidth, so that high bandwidth traffic such as video and pictures can be reliably sent from the incident area to a location outside of the incident area. In one embodiment switching to a satellite phone network bypasses problems with terrestrial networks such as cell phone networks and landlines which may be down.

Claims

1. A system for providing situational awareness from the scene of an incident in which interoperable temporary incident area network modules on a wireless mesh network are used to provide communication between those in the incident area, comprising:

a prioritized connection module coupled to said wireless mesh network for connecting information from said wireless mesh network to locations outside of said incident area, said prioritized connection module including a switching system for connecting said information to available communications channels and in which said system is prioritized based on channel availability and knowledge of the traffic on said wireless mesh network.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said prioritized connection module includes a number of ports, one each dedicated to a different commercial, military or private channel and which said switching system switches said information to one of said communications channels based on one of expense, speed, robustness, bandwidth or reliability of a said channel.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the information transmitted from said wireless mesh network to said prioritized connection module includes at least one of voice communication, video images, pictures, graphics, signal data and sensor data and any combination there of.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein said wireless mesh network includes a number of interoperable communication modules and wherein at least some of said interoperable modules or said prioritized connection module are battery-operated, and further including an emergency power transfer unit at a module for cannibalizing power available at said incident area to power said battery-operated modules, whereby situational awareness is achieved in spite of battery life.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein said prioritized connection module functions to import and export data to and from said incident area scene between said incident area scene and locations outside of said incident area scene, thereby to provide situational awareness to individuals or systems remote from said incident scene.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein said prioritized connection module detects the availability of said communications channels.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein said communications channels include one of a WIFI network, a landline network, a 900 megahertz network, a cell phone network, and a satellite phone network or any other communications medium capable of transmitting digital data.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein said satellite communications network is selected to obviate problems with terrestrial communications systems.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein said prioritized connection module selects the available communications channel that is the least expensive.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein said prioritized connection module selects the available communications channel having the most robust and reliable throughput.

11. The system of claim 7, wherein said prioritized:

connection module selects the available communications channel having the most reliable connection characteristic.

12. A method for establishing situational awareness outside a wireless mesh network at the area of an incident to a location removed from said wireless mesh network, comprising:

for a series of different communications channels detecting which channels are available and the capacity and reliability of a channel; and

,

for a prioritized connection switch data from the wireless mesh network to an available communications channel based on channel availability and at least one of communication channel expense, speed, robustness, bandwidth or reliability.

13. The method of claim 12, and further including making the prioritized connection based on traffic on the mesh network.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the information on the mesh network includes at least one of video information, picture information, voice information, data or sensor information.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the wireless mesh network includes a number of interoperable communications modules and wherein at least some of the interoperable modules or the prioritized connection module are battery-operated and further including cannibalizing power at the incident area to power said battery-powered modules, whereby situational awareness is achieved in spite of battery life.

16. A system for providing situational awareness from an incident area based on communication between interoperable communications modules on a wireless mesh network, comprising:

a prioritized connection module connected to said wireless mesh network for determining the availability of a terrestrially-based communication channel; and

,

a prioritized connection module for switching information from said wireless network to a satellite phone system in the absence of availability of a terrestrially-based communication channel, whereby said satellite phone system is operable to import and export data from and to said wireless mesh network at said incident area to and from a location remote to said incident area, thus to provide situational awareness outside of said incident area.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein where terrestrially-based communications channels are available, said terrestrially-based communications channels are evaluated based on cost of communication there through;

and whereby said prioritized connection module selects a communication channel other than that provided by said satellite phone and based on cost considerations related to a communication channel.